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Hazel Market bombing
The Hazel Market bombing was an attack carried out by the Movement for the Separation of Cocoa (MSC) on 9 June 2007 in Cocoa, Sunshine Coast. The bomb, strapped around the waist of a suicide bomber inside Hazel Market shopping centre, targeted the mall's security guards as well as the infrastructure and economy. The bombing caused widespread damage, completely destroying the entire mall. 63 people were killed, and over 500 people were injured. Among the dead were 40 security guards, 22 civilians, and the suicide bomber. The bombing marked the end of a four-month-long ceasefire by the MSC. The bombing was condemned by the British and Leeds governments. Five days after the blast the MSC issued a statement in which it claimed responsibility, but regretted causing injury or death to civilians and reinforced that it meant to target the government only. Several buildings near the explosion were damaged beyond repair had to be demolished, most notably the whole of the shopping mall at Hazel Market. Most of the rebuilding work was completed by late 2009, with the Hazel Market site becoming a cluster of hotels and small stores along the Promenade. Background on 8 June 2007.]] On 9 February 2007, the Movement for the Separation of Cocoa called a ceasefire after they and the Government of Leeds agreed on a way for peacefully separate Cocoa into it's own suburb. However, by early June 2007 is was clear that talks were falling apart and there were rising tensions inside the group, with some calling for an end to the ceasefire. Without any warning, the MSC broke their ceasefire on 9 June 2007 with the bombing of Hazel Square. It is thought that Hazel Square was chosen because inside the mall is Cocoa's regional security HQ, and thus lots of security would be there. Indeed, the bomb exploded outside the HQ, although in the end it destroyed the whole mall. Following the attack in 2007 the regional security hub for Cocoa was moved to opposite a Lloyd's TSB bank (now a Barclay's), which was also attacked, with very small bombs, twice, in 2009 and 2012. The attack A last-minute meeting was held by the MSC at one of their many alleged secret bases early in the morning of 9 June 2007 to finalise the details of the attack. In the end a former member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), who joined the MSC in 2006, volunteered to carry out the suicide attack. A man with "a big belt" (presumably the belt with the bombs tucked inside it that he wore around his waist) was seen entering the mall at around 1200 BST by CCTV cameras. Further inquiry showed that CCTV footage from other buildings showed that he walked along Cocoa Promenade before entering the mall. The man was seen standing outside the security HQ by CCTV from 1215 BST onwards, at one point messing with his belt (probably turning on the countdown timebombs). Ten minutes later, Hazel Square was no more. Aftermath The attack on Hazel Square was the most severe terrorist incident in Leeds since the New Year's Day bombing and the third most severe terrorist incident in Leeds' history, behind the New Year's Day bombing and the Leeds Interchange bombings. The Leeds Gazette ''initially reported the death toll at 100; they were criticised for exaggerating the death toll. Due to difficulty in identifying the charred and blown apart remains of the dead, many people were not identified until days after the disaster. 3 people have still not been identified to this day, although educated guesses have been made to who they were by the people who went to Hazel Market on 9 June 2007 and never returned. The day after the attack countries around the world sent messages of support to Leeds. The British Prime Minister at the time, Gordon Brown, condemned the attack and added the MSC to the list of high-threat terrorist groups worldwide the next day. On 14 June, the MSC released the following statement: : ''We regret that any civilians were killed or hurt in the recent attack on Hazel Square, but we sadly underestimated the size of the device that was used in the attack. The plan was to just damage the security headquarters and not the rest of the mall. We reinforce that we are solely attacking security to get our message across, and again regret that any civilians would get caught up in the chaos. Memorial Hazel Market was demolished in July 2007 and by 2008, all but a small area of the site had been turned into shops or hotels, with that small area laying empty. On 9 June 2009, the second anniversary of the Hazel Market bombing, a small park was unveiled in the small unoccupied area at the site of Hazel Market, named Hazel Memorial Gardens. In it included a plaque listing the names of the dead and a wishing fountain.